Human rights defenders in Shanghai have scheduled a protest in People’s Park in Shanghai on May 27 to help end the endless harassment of Zheng Enchong, a well-known human rights lawyer in Shanghai. With the approaching 20th anniversary of the June 4 Tiananmen Square Massacre, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) fears large-scale demonstrations and activities promoting human rights are imminent, and so they are launching a crackdown on leading human rights advocates. Recently some of them have been kidnapped, detained, imprisoned and forced into exile.
Regarding the oppressive measures taken by the CCP authorities, Zheng Enchong said that the new crackdown is related to U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to China, and because of the applications submitted by some Shanghai citizens to hold a sit-in.
On May 20, human rights advocates in Shanghai petitioned for a demonstration. Their intention was to stage an assembly in People’s Park on May 27 against the authorities’ putting Zheng Enchong under illegal house arrest. Tong Guoljing was in charge of writing and submitting the petition. Once the Shanghai authorities learned about the event, they arrested Tong on May 25 and forcefully brought him to Yangzhou.
Tong said, “I am in Yangzhou now. The government asked me to go on a two or three-day trip. It may last another three or five days. I can do nothing about it. It’s probably because I applied for the demonstration. They always seem to take illegal measures. Their interference is indicative of their guilty conscience and panic.”
Human rights advocates in Shanghai hold a monthly assembly. On May 13, over 200 human rights supporters assembled at a hotel in Maqiao Township, Shanghai. The CCP authorities believed those who organized the meeting were Chen Peilan and Jin Yuehua, both local residents of Maqiao Township. As a result, one of them was abducted, while the other was put under house arrest.
On the morning of May 24, Chen Peilan, a Shanghai human rights advocate, was worshipping in a church near the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government office. When she left she was abducted by eight or nine unknown people. Her whereabouts remain unknown.
Chen’s husband and friends are concerned about her safety because she has suffered from various diseases and has to take medicine regularly. They have tried to contact her by dialing her cell phone number but had no success reaching her.
An Epoch Times reporter contacted the Maqiao Township government in Minxing District to inquire about Chen’s whereabouts. They denied knowing anything about the situation. The reporter then called the head of the Appeals Office in Minxing District in Shanghai. The phone was answered and then hung up.
The CCP authorities in Shanghai are targeting this new crackdown at those who are regarded as leading activists. Reliable sources have confirmed that human rights advocates Wu Yunnan, Zhu Donghui, Zhang Cuiping, Tian Baocheng, and Tang Wumei are being closely monitored, and that human rights supporters Wu Tangying, Zhu Jindi, and Wang Xueyi were summoned to the police station today (at the time of this writing). Also, Liu Yiliang and Ding Juying were both arrested. Wu Tangying was to be detained for ten days, and another un-named human rights advocate was arrested at a hotel in the Changning District and wouldn’t be released until June 6.
Recently, Yu Zhengsheng, the current CCP chief in Shanghai, published an article on China’s state-run media. He declared his resolution to crack down on and prevent hostile forces at home and overseas from destroying Shanghai. In the article, he further pointed out that those who appealed against eviction were the most unstable elements in Shanghai.
Zheng Enchong said that as June 4th approaches, many human rights advocates are being closely monitored and receive harassing phone calls around the clock. For their own interests, he said, these officials take taxpayers’ money but make no effort to improve people’s living standard and resolve their problems, indicating the fragility of the governing system.
Read original article in Chinese.
